George H.W. Bush through the years

Former President George H.W. Bush, 90, was at Reliant Stadium for the Philadelphia Eagles-Houston Texans game on Nov. 2, 2014, in Houston. Take a look back on the life and career of the nation's 41st president.

George H.W. Bush was born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Mass., to senator and investment banker Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Here he's seen with sister, Nancy, at age 5 in 1929.

Bush at age 13 in 1937.

Bush at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., in 1940.

Bush served as a U.S. Navy pilot in World War II.

Bush was captain of the championship Yale baseball team. He finished college in two and a half years after his war service, majoring in economics.

George and Barbara Bush on their wedding day Jan. 6, 1945, in Rye, N.Y.

The Bushes and their children, George and Robin, at the rodeo grounds in Midland, Texas, in October 1950.

An oilman for a time, Bush examines equipment on an oil rig with an unidentified worker.

Congressmen Bush and Roger C. B. Morton of Maryland at a Ways and Means Committee hearing in February 1969.

Bush was named U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1971. Here, he meets with President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office.

Bush was named the director of the CIA in 1976.

In 1981, he was elected vice president and served under Republican Ronald Reagan for eight years.

Vice President Bush and wife Barbara in Kennebunkport, Maine, on Aug. 6, 1988.

Bush ran for president and won in 1989. Here, he and wife Barbara walk in the inaugural parade.

Bush and his vice president, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle.

Bush launched the first Gulf War on Aug. 1, 1990. Here, he and Barbara walk in the Saudi Arabian desert with General Schwarzkopf and entourage.

An avid tennis fan, Bush hit the courts with Chris Evert at Camp David in 1990.

Bush participates in a picnic lunch with Jackson Hole service clubs in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in July 1992.

After his presidency, Bush largely stayed out of the limelight. Here, he's seen with one of his sons, then-Gov. George W. Bush and his wife Laura, at the George Bush Presidential Library Dedication in 1997.

U.S. President George W. Bush (C) meets with President-elect Barack Obama (2nd-L), former President Bill Clinton (2nd-R), former President Jimmy Carter (R) and former President George H.W. Bush (L) in the Oval Office January. 7, 2009, in Washington, D.C.

Bush turned 80 in 2008. He celebrated with a parachute jump at his presidential library in College Station, Texas.

President Barack Obama speaks with Bush after awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Feb. 15, 2011.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton (L) and George H.W. Bush (R) share a laugh along with President George W. Bush (C) on stage at the dedication of the World War II Memorial on May 29, 2004, in Washington, D.C. The memorial was finished 59 years after the Allies' victory in Europe and Japan in honor of the 16 million who served in World War II and those who died. The elder Bush was a veteran of the war.

President Barack Obama along with former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and George Bush gather for a photograph outside the George W. Bush Library in Dallas on April 25, 2013.

Bush becomes an honorary member of the Blue Angels on Jan. 10, 2014.

Bush sits on stage during commencement ceremonies at Harvard University. The elder Bush was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws degree on May 29, 2014.